ARTMS to Advance ImmunoPET Imaging Isotope with Funding Support from Innovate BC

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ARTMS Inc., the global leader in the development and commercialization of novel technologies and products enabling cyclotron production of the world’s most needed medical radioisotopes, is pleased to announce that it received $300,000 funding from Innovate BC as part of its Ignite program. The funding will be combined with over $600,000 from additional sources to further develop and validate the production of zirconium-89 (Zr-89) ­for use in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging scans of cancer patients eligible for immuno-oncology (IO) therapies.

Mr. Raghwa Gopal, President/CEO of Innovate BC, commented about the work with ARTMS, “We're excited to help accelerate game-changing innovation like ARTMS’ proprietary approach to producing critically important, high-quality radiopharmaceutical medical isotopes for cancer patients. Past winners have solved critical market problems that other companies have tried to solve for 50 years.”

“We want to thank the Innovate BC team for their support and confidence in ARTMS,” said Dr. Michael Cross, Chief Operating Officer and project lead at ARTMS. “While immuno-oncology therapy holds great promise for many cancer patients, the challenge is understanding which patients will benefit from a given therapeutic. The Ignite funding will help us advance the development of Zr-89, a leading medical isotope utilized in identifying potential IO responder patients.”

The overarching goal of this project is to utilize ARTMS’ proprietary QUANTM Irradiation System^TM (QIS^TM) hardware system and expertise in solid targetry to produce high-quality and high-activity Zr-89 for the radiolabeling of molecular targeting ligands, such as antibodies, which are used in the non-invasive monitoring of the immune system by Immuno-Positron Emission Tomography.

Dr. Paul Schaffer, Principal Investigator and Chief Technology Officer of ARTMS remarked, “The emergence of Immuno-PET using Zr-89-based radiopharmaceuticals as a companion diagnostic with immuno-therapy allows physicians to better understand their patient’s specific molecular signature and thereby enables a personalized medicine approach with their treatment.”

With the goal of providing efficient and cost-effective radioisotope supply solutions, ARTMS continues to drive a paradigm shift in the practice of nuclear medicine by disrupting the current supply chain with its award-winning QIS™ hardware and consumable products.

About ARTMS

Based in Vancouver, Canada, ARTMS is the global leader in the development of novel technologies and products that enable the high-quality and high-yield production of the world’s most-used diagnostic imaging isotopes. ARTMS’ flagship product, the QUANTM Irradiation System^TM (QIS^TM), enables decentralized, cost-effective, large-scale production of important medical isotopes such as gallium-68 (⁶⁸Ga), zirconium-89 (⁸⁹Zr), technetium‐99m (^99mTc), and copper-64 (⁶⁴Cu) using pharmaceutical distributor and hospital-based medical cyclotrons, empowering users to control their supply chain. ARTMS commercializes these award-winning and proprietary Canadian inventions on a global basis and has the prospect of revolutionizing the nuclear medicine industry.

For more information on the QUANTM Irradiation System™ and ARTMS, please follow us on Twitter @Quantm99 and LinkedIn and visit http://www.artms.ca/.

About Innovate BC

Innovate BC is rebooting BC’s economy by helping innovators build great companies. We deliver ​cost-effective, ​high-impact programs ​to address the biggest pain points of BC businesses.